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Alice POV-

Something strange was going on in the Volturi castle though I had no idea what it could be. All I knew was for the past few days, Aro, along with most of his guard, had basically locked themselves in the throne room and while I was relieved to have Aro off my back, I couldn't help it, but to worry. Something big was going down and whatever it was I knew without a doubt it couldn't be good. I needed to figure out what was happening for my own peace of mind. I had to make sure that whatever was going on didn't involve my family. I had tried to see what was happening by calling on my visions, but for some odd reason everything was blank. I would get a flash of images once in a while, but it was never anything I could see clearly or anything which made sense and could clue me in to what was going on.

When Aro did not make an appearance for the third day in a row, I knew I had to do something. It wasn't that I was worried about him, quite the opposite actually, yet I needed to know if he was dead, or on a trip, or whatever because if it were any of those things it may be my one and only shot at escaping. There was no way I could let an opportunity such as this slip through my fingers. Now all I had to do was figure out how I could actually find out what was going on because I doubted walking up to one of the guard members demanding information would work in my favor. I had to be sneaky to ensure nobody would figure out what I was up to. I figured my first step should be wandering around the underground castle to see if there were any clues and considering how big this place is, well I knew it wouldn't be a task I could get done in a matter of a few minutes or even a few hours. This could actually end up being an all day job.

Leaving my room, I called it a cell, but I suppose that doesn't really matter, I slowly started to make my way down the main hallway. So far nothing seemed out of the ordinary accept for a strange and yet somewhat familiar scent I could not place at this moment in time, but deep down I knew if I could identify the smell then I would have the answers I was looking for. Deciding to follow the scent, I found myself headed in the direction of the throne room. That smell, earthy to a degree I wanted to vomit, I knew that smell. How did I know that smell? It was so frustrating because I knew the answer to my own question, but it was on the tip of my tongue just out of my reach. I absolutely hated it when I couldn't remember something since it reminded too much of the human life I had no memory of.

As I got closer to the throne room I could hear a heartbeat, but something was off, it wasn't exactly human and the smell was not that of a human either. It was like wet dog, wait, wet dog? A shifter was here! Wait, that didn't make any sense at all. Why would a shape shifter be in Volterra unless of course they too were a prisoner. Had Aro sent someone to La Push in order to kidnap one of the wolves or was this particular shape shifter from a different tribe? What on earth was going on? I did not believe for one second this was just some random occurance; no, everything that was happening was happening for a reason, it was all tied together somehow.

"You make an intriguing offer, but why should I trust you? After all, I know your tribe or at least some of the members, are friends with the Cullen family. How can I be sure this is not some sort of trap?" Even through the thick oak door I could hear the leader of the Volturi speaking, but who he was speaking to I had no idea though I was sure I would find out soon enough. "Why would you, a creature designed to kill my kind, suddenly desire to join our ranks? It simply does not make any sense."

"I don't need to explain myself to you." A very distinct and familiar feminine voice rang throughout the entire underground castle, but Alice couldn't believe it. The voice belonged to Leah Clearwater, the only female known to ever shift in to a wolf, but why on earth would she be here of all places? As far as Alice knew, Leah detested vampires and it was highly unlikely that had changed. "I came here because honestly, it's better than back home and at least here you guys are open about the fact you're blood drinking monsters, which is more than I can say about any leeches I know. Now are you going to let me stay or should I go find another clan of bloodsuckers to hang out with? All you need to know is I have my reasons for doing this and if I feel you need to know then I'll tell you."

I didn't need even need to try and look in to the future to know what Aro was going to say. Of course he would welcome Leah as part of the Volturi because he was a collector of rare and one of a kind things, or rather people both living and dead. Considering Leah was the only she-wolf known to have ever existed, well there was no doubt in my mind he would take her up on her offer, even if it it was rather suspicious all things considered. He would be a fool if he didn't take her in now, though for her sake, even if Leah and I did not exactly see eye to eye most of the time. If she had come here for me, which made the most logical sense given the current situation, I'm not sure I would be able to live with myself if something happened to her even though I wasn't the biggest fan of the female shapeshifter. I'm not sure I would ever understand how someone who made it pretty clear she hated me, would risk her life for mine. That had to be the reason she was here because nothing else made any sense at all.

"You are welcome to stay with us if you follow our rules." The leader of the Volturi had to be smirking, I could hear it in his voice. "It will be nice to have a pet. When I was a human child I always wanted a dog and so my father gave me a stray he found; too bad for the dog I wanted to see what made him tick, he didn't survive the surgery I'm afraid. I do hope you fair better than he did and if you follow the rules it shouldn't be a concern. Now as much as I would take pleasure in showing you around the castle, it's time for dinner, but I am sure that Alice, who is standing outside the door right now, would love to give you a grand tour. How about it my young Alice? Would you care to show our newest member around her new home?"

With a sigh I prepared myself to face Aro and Leah. Now I would have to be extra careful not to upset Aro because I didn't want to take the chance of her being punished in my place. On the other hand, with Leah here our chance of escape was doubled. Perhaps having her here would end up better than I first thought; perhaps I would get home to Jasper.

TBC...